


Fortune Therapy

by FoxRafer



Category: Star Trek RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-14
Updated: 2011-05-14
Packaged: 2017-10-30 07:18:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/329191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FoxRafer/pseuds/FoxRafer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for <a href="http://griffndor.livejournal.com/"><b>griffndor</b></a> as part of her  auction win. AU where Eric is a writer and Karl is a caterer. Inspired by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Riffle_shuffle.jpg"><b>this picture</b></a>; the card meanings come from <a href="http://www.serenapowers.com/playingcards2.html"><b>Serena's Guide to Divination</b></a></p>
    </blockquote>





	Fortune Therapy

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [**griffndor**](http://griffndor.livejournal.com/) as part of her auction win. AU where Eric is a writer and Karl is a caterer. Inspired by [**this picture**](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Riffle_shuffle.jpg); the card meanings come from [**Serena's Guide to Divination**](http://www.serenapowers.com/playingcards2.html)

Eric had been helping Karl procrastinate for most of the evening. He wasn't even sure what it was Karl wanted to avoid. Something related to the books or payroll, he thought, which made no sense because Karl was a finance whiz. But whatever the problem, Karl wanted to put it off and Eric was more than happy to oblige. It'd be that much easier to help him with it after a few diversions.

They'd started with belting out a few classic hair metal songs with an abrupt and somewhat disconcerting segue to ABBA and The Carpenters. There were a few perilous moments when Eric had to fend off several attempts to have his toenails painted with the fingernail polish Karl's niece had left on her last visit. But it had led to some very enjoyable tussling which led to some very enjoyable kissing which Eric thought might lead to even more enjoyable things. But instead he was now sitting alone on the floor watching and listening with growing amusement as Karl hunted through seemingly every drawer and cabinet in the house, expelling a steady stream of nonsensical muttering as he went. Finally he returned, a triumphant smile on his face, his laptop tucked under his arm and a deck of cards in his hand.

"I'm going to tell your fortune," he announced, plopping down on the floor next to Eric.

"With a laptop and playing cards?"

"Last week I found this site about using cards to tell someone's fortune." Karl shoved the deck into Eric's hand as he opened his computer. "The person who's fortune is being told has to shuffle."

Eric opened the box and shook the cards into his hand. "Even if he's just humoring the fortuneteller?"

"Especially so," Karl smiled.

Eric gave a half-grunt, half-laugh as he loosely cupped the cards in his palm. He studied Karl's face, saw the tension just beneath the surface, tried to read what could be so troubling Karl was looking for any excuse not to think about it. "You don't think we've wandered into the realms of the bizarre here?"

Karl looked up, his eyes so remarkably tired and sad. Eric immediately reached across to stroke his face then leaned over and gently kissed him. "Talk to me."

"Not yet." Karl stayed close, their foreheads touching as his hand stroked through Eric's hair. "Soon, I promise." They kissed slowly, thoroughly, before pulling back. "Indulge me?" He tapped the cards with his finger. "Maybe it'll prove enlightening."

Eric smiled and began to shuffle. "If anything proves accurate I'll do the dishes for a week."

Karl let loose a small bark of laughter. "You already do the dishes, you just do them so badly I have to wash them right after."

"Is it my fault you're such a perfectionist?"

"Shut up and cut the deck." Once there were two piles between them, Karl waved his hands over them as if performing a magic trick. "Ok, now square them up in one pile and turn over the top card."

"The three of spades."

"That represents your past and it means ... 'unfaithfulness and partings; be wary in partnerships.' It's obvious. That's your ex."

"He never cheated on me."

"Eric."

"In fact, you may recall I was the one who broke up with him because I'd just met this crazy Kiwi at a conference and realized I couldn't stop thinking about him."

"That's sweet but you're still being pedantic."

"I don't think that's the word you're looking for."

"The full line is 'unfaithfulness _and partings_.' Now I'm wondering what it says about you that you latched onto unfaithfulness like that."

"Shall we continue?"

"Draw the next card."

"Ten of diamonds."

"That's the present. 'Money and travel highlighted; fortunate changes.'"

Eric began to sing the Twilight Zone music.

"You have to admit that's a little uncanny."

"It's fairly spot on; I'll give you that." Eric turned another card over. "King of clubs. I'm guessing that's the future?"

"What a brain. I knew I loved you for more than your body."

"So what does it mean?"

"Are you bouncing?"

"What does it mean?"

"King of clubs: 'an honest, generous and affectionate man; a dark-haired man.'"

"Huh." Eric stilled, suddenly serious. "Well that's, that's pretty cool actually. My future is you."

"I wouldn't exactly describe myself as generous," Karl murmured, abruptly pushing up from the floor. He grabbed a couple of glasses that had been abandoned earlier that evening and headed for the kitchen, Eric following close behind.

"What's going on? Let me help." Eric leaned against the counter and waited.

Karl put the glasses in the sink, turned on the faucet then turned it back off, moved the glasses to the counter, then seemed to deflate a little as he finally stopped fiddling. "I have to do the payroll tonight."

"And?"

"And I have to let Jimmy go."

"Well, I hate to say it but it's about time."

"Nice, Eric."

"No, I'm serious. Do not beat yourself up about this. Please." Eric crossed the room and turned Karl toward him. "No one else would have given him the number of chances that you did, the time that you gave him to improve. You don't call that being generous? And he still kept messing up, he never came to work on time."

"Maybe he needs more training, maybe he learns differently."

Eric framed Karl's face with his hands. "You have spent weeks working one-on-one with him, time you couldn't afford to spend. But you did it because you wanted to help him succeed."

"I thought I'd gotten away from all this."

"What, you thought employees would all be miraculously perfect outside of the corporate world?"

"No, but ..."

"And unless you were telling tales, you hardly ever had to let someone go."

"And only once for cause, every other time was downsizing."

"Because you read people well, hire smart and help them as much as is humanly possible. The only mistake you made here was hiring him in the first place. Jimmy's a slacker."

"He's a good kid."

"Who's been taking advantage of you. At the very least he's been taking advantage of your kindness. Has he put in any effort to change? Anything at all?"

Karl closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. Finally he looked at Eric. "No. There's been nothing but excuses."

"You've made the right decision."

"I know." Karl pulled Eric to him and sunk into the embrace, let himself be lifted out of any remaining guilt and distress. They stood in each other's arms, a few minutes of quiet soothing. Finally Eric pulled back slightly and kissed Karl on the forehead.

"What do you say I help you finish the payroll, then you can show me what a generous and affectionate dark-haired man you really are."

"Don't forget honest," Karl added as they started walking out of the room, arms slung around each other.

"An honest lover? Only if your honesty compels you to say how amazing I am in bed."

"Oh well then, I guess I'll stick to lying," he laughed, ducking just in time to avoid a healthy dope slap to the back of the head.


End file.
